Bittersweet Orange
by FailingDemi
Summary: Kaoru’s neutral look at this girl was tipping towards favorable. And he did not hear her once say his name. -KaoHaru-Future Fic-ONESHOT


-Bittersweet Orange

The disgust of having many girls flocking to his twin was quite the horror. His brother, who was quite the stupid head in this area, was…passive and allowed the girls to do whatever they wanted. His twin really didn't know to handle the revolting women, leaving him feeling more than sorry for the poor guy. He never had a problem because…well…he was…_reserved._

No one _CAN_ ever touch a reserved guy_. _Which was a leading reason of why girls kept away from him. But then the question of his sexuality may be more than half of the reason why. Maybe being 'gay' was a great gossip and fake status that he pulled onto himself to keep him safe.

His twin on the other hand…had no idea of fending off for himself. That was why…Hitachiin Kaoru kept playing the 'break-her-heart' game. Back in Kaoru's middle school days, he and his twin would always receive love letters, meet girls, and then break their measly hearts. They didn't care much of how girls felt, but now Hikaru has become passive about them while Kaoru still kept that stone-cold heart of his.

He never advanced from where he last stood. Hikaru did. Kaoru still was patient but could not tolerate disgusting girls, while Hikaru became more patient and learned to be gentle to 'fragile' girls.

Hikaru was stupid, too stupid to know the difference between fake smiles and sincere actions. He was dense and Kaoru knew that. Since the Host Club, Hikaru had liked their female member of the club, but he never got the chance to confess.

His older brother didn't admit that he truly loved her and he let the chance pass by saying that_ 'from now on, I'll be careful around them, so as not to make anymore stupid mistakes_!'

But he kept making a mistake; it was his lack of judgment. Which was why Kaoru took care of his emails.

And with emails…Kaoru could hack in and delete whatever he didn't want his twin to see.

Late one night, he was there sitting in his twin's office. Lights were off all around him, his brother had gone home, and Kaoru was sitting on a reclining chair staring indifferently at the computer screen.

He was on a web browser; an email site to be precise. And he logged into an account that didn't belong to him.

And a page unfurled itself in front of him, stating that there were ninety-four new emails that day. Kaoru's eyes scanned each link, and he began reading the first one.

_-Hikaru-kun! Would you like to go out tomorrow? Please send your reply! I'll be waiting-! -Ayemi_

Kaoru closed his eyes and deleted the message. His eyes scanned the screen and looked at the contents of the next message.

It was disgusting so he deleted it. After reading most of the mail, and after deleting so much of them, he was thoroughly repulsed with each mail, and almost deleted them all until the twenty-three year old's mouse landed on something peculiar.

_-Either Twin Please Read._

His curiosity was too overwhelming, because usually the emails would be named: _To: Hikaru/Kaoru-kun with love!_

But this was very plain, so he clicked on it. A page whisked out in front of him, and in one line:

_-Are you free this Friday? An amusement park just opened, and I'd like to go with either of you. If so, please reply._

Kaoru stared at the monitor with his calculative eyes. Something was so peculiar about this mail; it didn't contain any lovey-signs and strangely it wasn't directed at one twin.

He closed his golden eyes and 'tsked' silently as he remembered the dirty trick they pulled many years before. _'Gee. So this person doesn't care who comes? I bet she wants Hikaru to come…how typical. Let's see if she's fit for him.'_

And he hit the reply button, opening a new page.

He tapped the keyboard hesitantly, as he conjured up the words that Hikaru would use and he typed in: _'Sure. How about we meet at the North Clock Tower at ten? And don't be late! -Hikaru.'_

-Send-

He knew his brother so well that he could mimic the same writing style that Hikaru had. And of course, he could act the same like Hikaru. The woman would not know who was who, and therefore Kaoru could see how she was…before he crushed her hopes.

He highlighted everything and swiftly deleted it. Hikaru never checks his mail; ever since love letters came by email, he never knew that he had plenty of /fake/ admirers, which gave Kaoru the advantage of sneaking out for a date.

'_If she fits, I'll introduce her to Hikaru. If she doesn't…'_ Kaoru thought, as he stood up from the chair. He looked at the calendar which had Hikaru's immature scribbles on it. Underneath all the pen scratches and doodles, he made out that the Friday was only two days away.

Kaoru smiled craftily; he snapped shut Hikaru's laptop on the desk.

'_Plenty of time.'_

-Friday…

Kaoru was sitting in his office chair; his suit was replaced with a more casual wear. He stared boringly at the time, watching the seconds turn into minutes, and the minutes turn to hours. Hikaru on the other hand didn't know why his twin was dressed like that and not doing anything.

Alas, he stood up and said, "Hikaru, I'm going out."

"To where?" he asked, tapping a pen to his cheek. Kaoru briskly walked by and picked up his cell phone from a counter.

"Can you afford to do my share of work?"

"Uhm…sure…?"

"Thank you, Hikaru," he said, giving a smile before walking out.

The wind blew through his light brown hair; hazel orbs were hidden beneath sunglasses, and the sun bore down at him with unmerciful rays. He had his hands tucked in his pockets, as he leaned against the enormous tower that offered little shade.

Passing women stopped to gaze at him, they were possibly struck with the 'love-on-first-sight' crap, but the twenty-three year old didn't pay much mind. His hair was craftily brushed to the left, and his choice of clothing was chosen on what Hikaru would normally wear to a date.

But that man wasn't Hikaru. He was just acting like him, and he would have to see if she was fit for Hikaru, it was all for his welfare. At last, his eyes landed on a woman who was strolling towards the tower, glancing around as if looking for someone.

'_Is that…her?' _he asked, raising an eyebrow and then…

"Ah, you came!" she exclaimed, hurrying over once she saw him. Kaoru smiled, but did not remove his sunglasses. "I thought you were kind of busy, so that you didn't come. Sorry for not keeping touch…wow. You've grown a lot."

'_So she knows me from before…'_ Kaoru thought, and he looked at her up and down before replying, "Well. I guess that's kind of true. And you…uh…filled out, I see…"

"…Thanks…" She smiled awkwardly, as her slightly long brown tresses tickled her cheeks. "So, how's your brother?"

"Oh? He's doing fine, and he's nice enough to let me leave for the day."

Slowly, she nodded. Her brown eyes glinted as she looked around. "So…uhm. Since, it's been a long time…" she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck. "S-Sorry, but I kind of forgot how to act towards you. Whether I should be happy or happier than that…"

"Mn, it's fine," Kaoru said; he pushed up his sun-blocking spectacles until it was holding up his bangs. He winked, as his finger pointed to the amusement park that was up ahead. "Why don't we have some fun, hmm? It's been a long time since I had a breather."

"Okay."

She had brown hair that tickled the back of her neck and her cheeks. Her eyes would stare right through people and she would understand motives and feelings behind words whenever she would converse with people.

Her smile was dazzling and innocent, but her words were blunt and can be used as her greatest weapon. However, she's soft and smiling that day when she met up with Kaoru. And Kaoru didn't even know her name…

"Here," he said, giving a bundle of cotton candy to his companion. She smiled in gratitude, and accepted it. She used her fingers to pluck off small bits of sugared cotton and she ate it experimentally, as Kaoru received the change from the man managing the cart.

"It's large," she murmured, a worried demeanor replacing her smile. "I might not finish all of it…"

Kaoru laughed slightly as he bent down to bite a piece off. Once he pulled away, he licked his sugar-coated lips and said, "That's why I'm here."

She took a napkin and gingerly wipe at the corner of his lip, and she said with a bright smile on her face, "Sloppy, something I never expected from you."

He blinked, as she turned away to look around. Kaoru touched the corner of his lip gingerly and looked at her back. _'…Huh?'_

"Hm. There seems to be a lot of rides," she commented, grabbing one of his sleeves. "Let's look around."

The two of them continued walking around the carnival. Kaoru glanced at her every so often, and he tried to figure out who this person was. _'…So I knew her in the past? She seems to know me… Eck. The Host Club…there were so many girls there…I can't remember,'_ he thought. He stole a glance at her. _'And brown hair and eyes are common…'_

"Are you…okay?"

A hand swished in front of his face. Kaoru blinked and broke out into a smile, as he patted the shorter person's head assuring her. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. I was just thinking of things, you know. Contemplating of what we should do now."

She looked around; the brown hair tickled her face again. After looking around for something, she pointed out to one of the rides and said, "Why don't we go on some of those attractions? I'm not hungry yet, and this IS a carnival."

Kaoru was licking his fingers absently of the cotton candy, as he looked at where she was pointing. It was a dark looking attraction with a large billboard which had the words: "HAUNTED MANSION" splashed all over it in red. He raised his eyebrows.

"…Really? Aren't you afraid?" he asked, looking down at the woman. To him, she didn't seem at all enthusiastic. She just shrugged in reply as she allowed Kaoru to finish the cotton candy. They walked neared it, and he looked up at the board, and then at the person who was standing near him the whole time. "Are you sure? I heard that it was kind of…scary."

"Uhm, are you scared? Because, if you're scared we can go somewhere else," she backfired, touching his arm gently. He identified the concern written on her face and hinted in her eyes. Kaoru blinked as he slowly moved his arm away from her contact.

The sincere tone in her voice sounded almost real, if it was fake. Kaoru only stared at her strangely. Maybe this person…was a perfect fit for Hikaru. He murmured, "Of course, I'm not scared. I was just wondering if you were."

"Nope, I'm fine."

He gave her a doubtful look. She assured, "Really." Before he could say anything, she grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him inside. Kaoru was surprised. Not that he was scared of the 'Haunted Mansion' but the woman…seemed way too comfortable with him…

…like she knew him from before.

She had pulled him into the house, but the door behind them closed eerily, trapping them in a seemingly stuffed place. A wall moved in front of him, and her touch left him momentarily, as a dim light appeared before them.

"There's a passageway. And I think we're supposed to go there," she pointed out. There wasn't a trace of fear in her voice. He blinked, as they quietly moved their way down the halls. It came to the point where the halls became narrow, and they had to move slowly in baby-steps to avoid getting scratched.

Kaoru was thinking the entire time. Wondering who this person was, and if he knew her from before. He already forgotten most people, it was probably someone who was a fan of their twincest act.

But then…she wouldn't be acting this familiar with him. He kept walking until he bumped into her. Kaoru blinked, as she testily placed her hands around the walls. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she tried to push the wall, like it would open.

"…Dead end," she murmured.

Zzhhoom.

"Huh? What's-" she asked, as darkness enclosed around them.

Kaoru blinked. His vision was swamped with darkness, but his other senses weren't failing him. He could feel her take a small step back and brush against his arm, and the breathing next to him stilled. It was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat ring out in his ears.

"Did the power go out…?"

"I don't know," he murmured, trying to look around. He held out his free arm, expecting to hit nothing, but it was pressed up against a wall. Kaoru furrowed his brows, as he felt around him. They were enclosed. Somewhere. Alone. "…This wall…is supposed to be moving. But the power is shut off."

"W-Wait…What?"

Kaoru sighed as he leaned against a wall. "We're stuck here. I heard that there was a small earthquake this morning. I thought they already gotten the power fixed up."

"That's it," she said in the darkness. "It's a power outage. That's what I'm guessing."

Kaoru's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he could see a faint figure sitting down on the ground and against the wall. He sat down as well, looking around analyzing the small space. "So…why did you exactly ask me out…today…"

"Well…It has been a long time, I guess. And I found out that I was free today," she muttered, looking down at the ground. "Reason why I got to you was that I lost contact with everyone except your guy's emails. I remember you forcing it into my hand one day. And I couldn't find it until last month."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at her.

"I was debating whether to email you two," she continued quietly. "But then only one of you responded. So…yeah."

"Oh," he murmured quietly. They heard some bangs nearby and a muffled shout. Kaoru immediately scrambled to his legs and tried to bang on the walls, trying to catch the attention. "Hey! We're here!"

And then the light that was visible flickered away, when the group of people left. He sighed in defeat, and sunk back onto the floor. "Idiots…" he murmured, he was at the point of swearing. Kaoru reached into his pockets and pulled out a cell phone.

He flipped it open, and he tried to dial Hikaru's number. It didn't work, and he snapped it shut. "Damn, connection here has been lost too."

"Ah! I remember something," she said, digging in her small handbag. She pulled out something and in a flick, light was visible. They flinched at the brightness, and Kaoru realized that something was held in the woman's hand. She dangled the small flashlight from her hands and said. "Well, I got a flashlight! I always thought it was annoying carrying it around, but it's actually-eeep!"

The flashlight dropped onto the ground with a clack.

"Huh?" Kaoru asked. His eyes widened in surprised as her hands flew at her arm. He crawled over to her. "What's the matter?"

"No…it's…nothing. I think…I felt something crawl up my arm…" She rubbed her arm quickly as if trying to rid the feeling. "Felt weird and slimy…"

"Then it is something," he said, with a sigh. He saw her fix her posture and he stood up. Kaoru sighed in relief, "We have to do something." Kaoru placed a hand on a wall and shoved at it, it didn't budge.

"There should be a switch. In cases like these they should have a button around here," he grumbled. The other stood up and brushed her pants, while looking around the box. She placed a finger in a small indention.

Click

"AH!" she yelled out in surprise as the wall she was leaning on tumbled open. She fell onto the ground and rubbed her head, as Kaoru walked towards her, peering into the place where she had fallen into.

"Great, we found it," he said, helping her up. "The exit should be up ahead."

Sometimes the twenty-three year old woman would bump to Kaoru as things like spiders crept down onto her arm, but the moment immediately dispersed. Kaoru didn't mind the contact; he never did. But something about her made him feel queasy in the stomach.

When he would momentarily brush his hand against her elbow whenever she would run into something unpleasantly slimy, his face would turn a small shade of pink. Something that never happened to him since the days of the twincest act.

Kaoru's neutral look at this girl was tipping towards favorable. And he did not hear her once say his name.

**Kick**

"This…is kind of pathetic," Kaoru said out loud, kicking aside a paper mache doll that randomly popped out from the side. The woman who followed in the side stared at the broken doll before she ran up to catch up with him. "Seeing how these electronics are back to life…the power must be back on."

"Er…can we not kick these things?"

Kaoru shrugged, as he pocketed his hands. "It's really no big deal, I mean I can pay them back. And this is really…"

"Boring?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Kaoru nodded in agreement, as he stretched while they walked down the hallways. He was ignoring the popping machines, extra effects that flashed on and off, and what not. The woman had a harder time avoiding slimy things that always seem to creep into her back or onto her skin.

"Lots of thing changed, huh?" she asked, her voice shaky.

Kaoru didn't know how to respond, so he grunted. His golden eyes slowly slid to her. Now that he had the time to look at her, he noticed that she wasn't an eye-sore. And that she didn't have massive amount of make-up on. He also noticed that her face looked like it was changing from the phase from 'cute' to 'beautiful'.

"Well. I…wanted to ask you something…" she continued. Kaoru blinked at her. "And…that is…ah…" She looked up and she immediately lit up. "There's the exit!" He stared, and she patted his arm. "Er…let's get out of here…?"

Kaoru nodded in assent.

"You were saying…?" Kaoru continued, once they had received a thousand apologies from the man in charge of the attraction. They were now strolling along the park. To Kaoru it held no more amusement.

She seemed kind of down and more inflated than usual.

"Hey, are you tired?" he asked, falling in step with her. She shook her head, but didn't say anything. Kaoru placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she mumbled, while putting a hand to her head.

"Sorry, I just have some kind of headache," she said. She shook her head and then pointed to a mass rotating wheel. "That's a Ferris wheel…why don't we ride it, and I'll tell you there."

"O…kay…?"

"You wanted something?" he asked, sitting on the opposite side of the cart. The woman sighed as her fists clenched slightly.

"I've been worried lately. I've heard a lot from some of the people who I work with that there was something wrong with you twins. And well. Worrying won't do me any good, so I decided to call you out and to see what's up. But I do have one question that has been nagging me."

"What is it?"

"Why did you come instead?" she asked, brown eyes piercing through his golden orbs. "I remember clearly that Hikaru sent me the reply, but then you came instead. Was there a reason?"

'_What?'_

She raised her eyebrows at him, as he said weakly, "It's no big surprise that I faked to be Hikaru today. I faked to be him in every single date that someone asked him out to. And he doesn't even know." She stayed silent, as he continued softly. "I-…by the way, how…could you tell?"

"Kaoru…?" she asked skeptically. "Did you forget that I'm the only one who could tell you two apart?"

He stared, as the pieces fell in. No wonder she had touched him with such familiarity; no wonder she wasn't fazed at all by his Host Club charms; no wonder she wasn't scared when they were trapped; no wonder…

She wasn't a stupid, disgusting woman.

She was _Haruhi_.

And a quite beautiful one at that.

"Eh?"

"Yeah, you didn't recognize me," she said, scratching the back of her head. Haruhi laughed hollowly. "Imagine my surprise when you started to act like Hikaru, but I still knew it was you. You can't hide, Kaoru."

His eye twitched and he placed a hand on his head. "W-Wait, so you're Haruhi…and…"

"Also about the things you said about faking to be Hikaru. Were you testing me?" she asked. Kaoru sweat dropped, as he tried to ignore her heavy gaze on him.

"Well…yeah. You know, many love letters and stuff. I was seeing if anyone was fit for Hikaru."

…

"Oh," Haruhi murmured. "So you thought that I was a secret admirer, and you decided to test me."

"Wow, you're not dense anymore…" he murmured sarcastically. The embarrassment of having to test his own friend was still there on his face. He heard Haruhi laugh, and a blush was tinted on his cheeks.

"So what do you think? Am I fit for Hikaru?" she asked lightly, a smile on her face. Kaoru looked up from the floor of the cart, as the Ferris Wheel started to near towards the top. His blush grew faint as a mischievous smirk came on his face.

"No."

Her smile disappeared, as his grin grew bigger and he said jokingly, "I'm not giving you to him; I'm keeping you for myself."

"…?"

Click

Haruhi blinked; as Kaoru grinned cheekily as he snapped his phone shut. Haruhi's eye twitched, as she asked. "Did you just take a picture of me?"

"Yep! For blackmail purposes," he said with a wink.


End file.
